The US government "encircles and suppresses" TikTok, free competition has become empty talk
Column
TikTok's experience cannot but make people doubt the current market environment in the United States.
Since U.S. President Trump announced on Air Force One on July 30, local time that he would directly use executive orders or exercise emergency economic power to ban TikTok, a chaotic weekend about TikTok began and continued until this week. .
On August 3, local time, Trump again voiced this, threatening that TikTok must be sold to the United States before September 15 or it must be closed, and a considerable part of the money must be handed over to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, regardless of whether the money comes from TikTok. Or Microsoft, "because we made this deal possible."
The end of TikTok's US business seems to be gradually clear but chaotic. But regardless of the end of TikTok's difficult and tortuous encounter, some truths have already emerged.
Trump does not hesitate to suppress TikTok in various ways
The United States was once regarded as a market with an open discourse system. But the encounter with TikTok broke this legend.
TikTok appears in the US Internet market with its unique Internet culture. It used to be a territory monopolized by major American technology giants.
As 9 well-known TikTok bloggers recently published an open letter to Trump on the US media platform Medium, “The monopoly of large Internet companies has caused people in the Z era to sacrifice network neutrality and freedom of information. The monopoly of large companies has shrunk. The world’s definition of the Internet. TikTok has realized the interaction that social media such as Facebook and INS could never achieve."
TikTok also uses short videos full of joy and offbeat to deconstruct the growing hatred and confrontational atmosphere on the Internet platform.
For some Americans who have a sense of cultural and ideological superiority, especially "WASP" (self-proclaimed white Anglo-Saxon Protestants), this situation is unacceptable.
Because this means that the right to define and dominate the culture in their hands is lost. The loss of dominance in online culture means that the ability to manipulate public opinion and public opinion through Internet platforms has declined. For Trump, who is facing an unfavorable situation in the election, this is like touching the scales, so he does not hesitate to suppress TikTok in various ways.
Protect intellectual property rights
In TikTok's possible deal with Microsoft, it is clear that Microsoft has taken a big advantage.
Previous rumors about the consideration of TikTok's overseas business sales indicate that TikTok has a valuation of approximately US$50 billion. Even so, considering TikTok's expansion speed, potential value, and commercial innovation capabilities since its entry into overseas markets, the transaction with Microsoft is undoubtedly a low sale.
So it is not difficult to understand why Microsoft also expresses its gratitude to the US government. Once the transaction is concluded, Microsoft's business will smoothly enter the social media field and expand new consumer businesses. They have done nothing in this field in the past.
But this big deal is not a voluntary one, but the result of intervention by the Trump administration. Free competition has become empty talk here.
TikTok's competitor Facebook is even worse. Not to mention China, they plan to launch Reels next month, allowing users to share short videos just like TikTok.
Although US regulators questioned the purpose of Facebook's acquisition of Instagram, they have ignored its plagiarism. The protection of intellectual property rights is rather ironic.
Law has become Trump's "plug-in" tool
Regarding the Trump administration’s encirclement and suppression of TikTok, there have always been legal questions about whether the government has the right to directly intervene in commercial activities.
Trump said he has this power. So where does his power come from?
Trump can use the International Emergency State Economic Power Act (IEEPA) by declaring a state of emergency that endangers national security.
In recent years, Trump has repeatedly used this method or threatened to use it to block Chinese companies from investing in the United States or doing business in the United States.
For example, since 2018, this law has been mainly used to restrict Chinese companies’ investment in US microchips and other industries, and it can also prevent certain foreign platforms from entering US app stores.
Earlier, the Trump administration used this big stick to force Ant Financial to terminate its transaction with MoneyGram, preventing companies with Chinese-funded backgrounds from acquiring the chip company Lattice Semiconductor.
Although TikTok is only a social platform, it has repeatedly stated clearly that the data of American users is stored in the United States and Singapore, but Trump has the right to interpret whether it endangers American security.
The US media has previously pointed out that the "International Emergency State Economic Power Act" is equivalent to Trump's "plug-in" tool, expanding the power of the president and posing a threat to the US partition system.
In addition, Trump can also use the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) under the U.S. Treasury Department to conduct international mergers and acquisitions review to find a handle. This is what the United States is doing.
There was merger review before and IEEPA afterwards. It is thought-provoking whether these tools used by the Trump administration are to maintain market fairness. The United States often advertises free competition, but Trump has blatantly deviated from this path.
Currently, ByteDance is exploring various ways to get rid of the containment. No matter what method you choose in the end, you can be sure that it was not voluntary. What happened to them has to make people doubt the current market environment in the United States.
□ Xu Lifan (Columnist)